How to reduce the bathroom water usage
Have you ever wondered how much water you use during your daily bathroom activities?
It may actually come as a surprise to learn about the high amount of water that we use for bathing and showering.
We call it wasted water because we may be able to achieve the same results while using less water.
Let us show you what we are talking about and how you can reduce your bathroom water usage and conserve water.
First measure your bathroom water usage
First, you need to know how much water you are using and then you can decide if:
– Are you wasting water?
– Where you can start saving water?
You need to start by finding out your home’s water flow, this is how many liters of water per minute your shower head or your water taps use. For that, you can just use a bucket and measure the time that it takes to get the bucket filled to the one-liter mark.
The time it takes to fill up the bucket to the one-liter mark lets you know how much the water flow is. For example, the tap delivers 1 liter of water every 5 seconds or the shower head delivers 9 liters per second.
For more information about how to measure the water flow rate, have a look at the video we have added below. Also, the aquasana website provides a very good overview and the difference between water flow and water pressure.
For measuring the toilet water usage, you will need to take the water meter readings before and after flushing the toilet. The readings will let you know how much water your toilet is using, for example, 10 liters per flush.
Again, for more information about how to read a water meter, have a look at the video we have added below.
Bathroom water usage example
And as an example, in our case, these are our water flow rate results:
It is shocking to realize how much water is being used in just a few seconds, especially while having a shower.
Now that you know how much water you are using per second or every time that you flush the toilet, the next step is to gather some additional information:
– For how long and how often are you taking showers? Does everyone at home spend the same time under the shower?
– An approximation of how many times per day the toilets are flushed.
– An estimation of how long you are using the water taps during the day.
And with all the information you have collected, you can already estimate your water usage and water cost.
In our case, for our household, these are our results:
After estimating how much water and money we are spending and where we are spending it, we got to know that our water fixtures are using a considerable amount of water in just a few seconds.
With that information, we started checking if it was possible to reduce the water flow through a cost-effective solution.
Install a water reduction valve
After doing some research, we decided that installing an adjustable water flow valve is an easy and economic way of reducing the amount of water we use while having showers.
With this valve, we have managed to reduce the shower water flow from 1 liter every 5,5 seconds to 1 liter every 8,5 seconds without actually noticing any difference while having showers.
The advantage of the valve is that it is manually adjustable, so if someday we need to increase the water flow rate, we can do it without any effort.
Or, if our small children are just playing with the water while enjoying their shower, we can decrease the water flow down to 1 liter every 10 seconds without them noticing any difference.
Additionally, the valve is discrete and unless you know it is there it is barely noticeable.
For more details and specifications, clicking on the valve image below will direct you to the product on Amazon…
Reduce the tap water flow
Another solution that popped up by just having a closer look was that we could adjust the sink water flow rate through the valves.
This way, we have adjusted the flow rate from 1 liter every 5 seconds to 1 liter every 9 seconds.
1 liter of water every 9 seconds for cleaning hands, and face or washing the teeth is more than enough.
Install a water saving tap aerator
Old faucet models run on average of around 15 liters of water per minute while a standard aerator can reduce the water usage to as little as 6 liters per minute.
Water-saving tap aerators can reduce water consumption even further and due to their low cost and easy installation they are most definitely a water-saving method to have in consideration.
We have installed a water-saving tap aerator and the results speak for themselves
Standars tap aerator water usage
Water saving tap aerator water usage
Have a look at the video below for more information. We are working towards making the videos available in different languages so, if English is not your main language, have a look at our Effiworkx YouTube channel for other language options
Water saving toilets
In our case, the toilet flushing didn’t present any water-saving opportunity. Our house has a dual-flushing toilet which is one of the most efficient solutions on the market.
Still, have into consideration that some very old toilets use considerable amounts of water, up to 15 liters per flush.
If this is your case and you are thinking about investing in installing a new toilet, just take some readings, and crunch some numbers and the result may help in deciding if the saving is worth the investment.
Ways to conserve water
Water conservation can be defined as the decision and the act of using less water
Water conservation both benefit you and the environment
The act of saving and conserving water does benefit you because you will be paying less for your water bills.
And it also does benefit the environment because conserving water prevents any unnecessary waste of natural resources.
Now, at the individual level, it may not look worth trying to save a few liters or gallons here or there.
Still, every little count and if hundreds or thousands of us do save a little every time, it will make an important contribution towards conserving our natural resources.
For example, if 9000 households would manage to save as little as 5 liters of water per day:
> Collectively, we would be saving over 16,000,000 liters of water per year!
> Collectively, assuming a cost of 2 euros per cubic meter of water, we would be saving nearly 33,000 euros per year!
Proven ways to save water at home
If you are looking for water-saving ideas at home, have a look at this video where we provide some useful tips to reduce water usage and decrease the water bill.
